Implants
"No flesh shall be spared.” — The MkXIII Cantos. The following systems and implants expand on those described in the Cybernetics section of Dark Heresy and follow the same rules for cost, quality, surgery and recovery as presented in the core rulebook. These enhancements represent a sampling of the kind of modifications that flesh endures on forge worlds in service to the Omnissiah, and the sorts of blessings a Magos might perform on others for the right fee or boon. *Plus the cost of the drugs. **Plus the cost of the weapon and bionic arm. Chem Implants These internal systems are often copies of ancient biotech designs made to automatically dispense stimms and other drugs directly into the user’s bloodstream. The most advanced of these systems are rare and arcane surgical implants whose use is often limited to elite Skitarii warriors and the dreaded mech-assassins. For the right price, however, the Mechanicus will perform this surgery on anybody, and many great house or guild agents and even nobles undergo it. Far cruder, but no less effective, are more primitive injector-rigs, the product of heretek workshops and renegades made for eager gang-heavies, blood-hungry mercs and cyborg pit fighters—they can turn the most unwilling subject into a savage killer. Chem Gland These rare and expensive implants are wonders of the biosculptor’s craft. Invisibly concealed within the body are miniaturised chemical factories that consume the user’s own natural resources to synthesise powerful chemical agents. Pick up to three substances when the implant is performed (such as Stimm, Panimune, and so on). The character can “gland” any one of these at will as a Half Action by succeeding on a Routine (+10) Toughness Test. A failed Test however inflicts a level of Fatigue. A failure by four or more degrees deals 1d10 points of Toughness Damage. Injector Rig These relatively crude cybernetic systems are obviously artificial and might include arrays of intramuscular hypodermics or flesh-wielded drug tubes linked to bulky chem-canisters sutured to the user’s back. These rigs may contain ten doses of up to four separate substances at once (most commonly Frenzon, Slaught, Stimm and De-Tox).,Injecting one of these is a Half Action and the effects are instant. Depending on the nature of the rig, it may be triggered either by manual control or by remote control by some other individual (particularly if the user is a slave fighter). As well as the normal dangers of excessive drug use and the drugs themselves, if the user suffers a Critical Hit, there is a chance that the injector malfunctions and poisons him. The character must succeed on a Toughness Test or the injector deals 2d10 points of Damage, ignoring Armour Points. Concealed Weapon Bionic Using a pre-existing bionic arm, a pistol or a short, singlehanded melee weapon can be modified and implanted as a concealed device. Weapons concealed in this fashion can be deployed and readied as a Half Action. Poor: The bionic weapon functions as normal, but gains the Unreliable Quality. In addition, the weapon cannot be removed with a Disarm, and locating the weapon requires a detailed inspection or a successful auspex scan. Common: As Poor, but the weapon loses the Unreliable Quality. Good: As Common, but the weapon functions as being best craftsmanship. Disadvantage: Any catastrophic Jam or Overheat automatically disables the limb in question as well as the weapon. Hermetic Infusion As another departure from the frailties of the flesh, the infuser system replaces human blood and blood processing organs with a far more efficient biomechanical serum, the most advanced forms of which contain legions of microscopic homunculitic machines that can search out and repair damage on a cellular level with frightening speed. Prerequisite: Tech-Priest, Autosanguine talent. Common: The tech-priest gains a +10 bonus on Tests made to resist toxins, diseases and radioactive contamination. As well, the tech-priest gains the Die Hard talent. Good: As Common, but the bonus on Tests increases to +20 and the tech-priest gains the Regeneration trait. Disadvantages: Aside from a greying of the flesh and visible withering of the tissues, Hermetic Infusion has one marked side effect: the tech-priest’s body can no longer use human blood, and so cannot be treated for Blood Loss or severe injuries by transfusion or regular medical treatments. Instead, the tech-priest must look to his own care (if possible) or that of a Magos Biologis to replace his lost serum. Mining Helot Augmetics A forgeworld is a hungry monster, devouring raw materials without pause or satiation. This hunger is fed by the blood and sweat of countless indentured labours (known as helots) and servitors who toil to feed the macro forges and titanic foundries. The Machine God is not without gifts for those that labour to feed it. In the deep mines, the helots are fitted with massive implant-drills and rams bonded into their nervous system, and their bodies are augmented to better perform their duties. Such improvements are often crudely fitted, and endlessly recycled for use again after the failure of their current fleshy housing. Common: Mining Helot Augmetics give the character an extra limb fitted with a breacher (see page 135). This implant increases the character’s Strength and Toughness Characteristics each by +10, thanks to surgically implanted muscle tissue and bionic skeletal reinforcement. Drawbacks: Unfortunately, the side effects of these somewhat crude and bulky flesh-metal fusions reduce the character’s Agility Characteristic by –10. These implants are performed with little thought given to the level of pain or discomfort they inflict, thus recipients gain 1d10 Insanity Points. The Rite of Setesh Utilised by the rich and powerful whose fear of death is sufficient to overcome their love of humanity, these augmetic rigs (known in Mechanicus lore as the Rite of Setesh) involve the living mummification of a dying body and its emplacement in an all-encompassing exoskeleton designed to keep an advanced aged or disease-ravaged body alive long past natural limits, trapping the body in what amounts to little more than a semi-mobile iron coffin devoid of human contact. The use of these augmetics is largely frowned upon even by the Mechanicus as skirting the edge of technoheresy in form and function. In the Calixis Sector, only the isolated and independent Magos Biologis of the Hippocrasian Agglomeration are willing to fashion these implant systems, and only then for a price that would beggar a king. Common: This rite grants a character the Machine (4) trait (except this Trait does not affect his or her mind) and the Regeneration trait. Wounds and mental characteristics are unchanged. Drawbacks: The character reduces Weapon Skill, Ballistic Skill and Agility to half (round down). Life in one of these devices is nightmarish and painful. The character gains 2d10 Insanity Points. Also, the rotted biology contained within adds +5 to any Critical Effect inflicted against the character. Vehicle Interface Circuitry Interface circuitry is one of the greatest treasures preserved from the golden past by the Adeptus Mechanicus. Glimmering neuron-interface circuitry implanted into the tissues of the hands allows an intuitive interface between a pilot and his craft. The most famous examples of implanted interface circuitry are from Galvia in the Scarus Sector, but certain forge worlds have the designs and capacity to create such wonders, one being the vast Myromentz orbital station in the Lathe System. Common: Interface implants grant a +10 bonus on Pilot Tests when operating any vehicle with interface receptors. In addition, a character equipped with this circuitry may also make a Perception Test (Difficulty set by the GM) to determine a vehicle’s status and condition as a Free Action. Category:Gear